Instead of rescheduling the 2020 National Association of Broadcasters Show—which was set to open April 18 in Las Vegas—NAB plans to effectively take parts of its show online with a digital offering dubbed NAB Show Express. It also wants to expand its NAB Show New York, if it is held Oct. 21-22 as originally scheduled.
Targeted to launch in April, NAB Show Express would offers a place where NAB exhibitors could share product information, announcements and demos, according to a letter from NAB president and CEO Gordon Smith. Plans also involve delivering some of the conference programming that had been slated for NAB’s annual show, as well as "opportunities for the community to interact virtually."
Since the NAB Show’s cancellation on March 11, numerous exhibitors including Avid and Sony had separately announced plans to make their customary April announcements via online press conferences and demos.
Smith also noted in his letter that last week the NAB launched a new radio and TV PSA campaign, "part of a comprehensive Coronavirus Response Toolkit that we have made available online to help broadcasters accurately cover the pandemic and prepare for the threat it poses to their staff, communities and businesses. We’ll be doing more in the weeks to come to harness the power of our industry as a force for good in these difficult times.”
